At UT, an organization representing Black Greek Letter Chapters (BGLC) was established in the 1990s as a temporary measure to serve as a support organization. On October 24, 2005, students representing the Black Greek Letter Chapters voted officially to affiliate with the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
In 2007 the University of Tennessee was granted a charter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek letter fraternities and sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed on May 30, 1930, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, with five charter fraternities and sororities: Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternities; and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Phi Beta sororities. In 1931 Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternities joined the council. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority joined in 1937, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity completed the list of member organizations in 1997. The council established its first permanent national office on the campus of Indiana University in 1992.